Fourth India-U.S. Strategic Dialogue to be held on June 24

New Delhi, June 21 (ANI): India and the United States will take part fourth edition of their strategic dialogue here on June 24.

The American delegation will be led by Secretary of State John Kerry, while the Indian delegation will be led by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.

India and the United have as many as 26 institutionalised bilateral mechanisms for consultations. The India-US Strategic Dialogue is one of these.

Both sides are expected seek ways to intensify bilateral cooperation and fine-tune their strategic collaboration.

The U.S. sees India as an important swing state situated in a strategic location very close to four nations that the Americans are most interested in today - China, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Myanmar.

The U.S. cannot afford to ignore economically resurgent India which also has the world's third largest army, fourth largest air force and fifth largest navy.

From India's perspective, if it is to become a crucial player in the global security and diplomatic architecture, it cannot achieve this objective without the help of the United States.

The two sides will have their hands full in terms of issues on the agenda. Afghanistan will naturally be a major discussion point as the phased withdrawal of American and NATO troops from Afghanistan is slated to begin from February 2014.

India will be keen to hear about Washington's plans about Afghanistan. A stable and peaceful Afghanistan is a strategic imperative for India.

Energy and defence will form core of discussions. The two sides have traversed quite some distance in past one decade and have been closely collaborating with each other in such crucial and diverse fields as defence, diplomacy, internal security, terrorism, agriculture, nano-technology, science and technology, medicine, energy, education and health.

However, no dramatic breakthroughs can or should be expected from this strategic dialogue process. (ANI)